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National Information |
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Superfund Program
Five Points PCE Plume
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Site Type: Active NPL |
Site Status & Updates
- Work will begin on the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study in 2008.
- After a 60-day comment period, on Sept. 19, 2007, Five Points PCE Plume was placed on the final National Priorities List (NPL).
- During the summer of 2007, contaminated soil and an underground storage tank were removed from the property of Your Valet Cleaners.
- The Site was proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL) in the Federal Register on March 7, 2007.
Site Description
The Five Points PCE Plume site (Five Points) is an area of groundwater contamination below the ground's surface. The groundwater plume is located approximately at the intersection of 1500 South and State Highway 106, extending to the west-northwest. The location of the plume, based on current information, lies primarily under the city of Woods Cross.The site consists of a groundwater plume of tetrachloroethylene (PCE), or sometimes called perchloroethylene (PERC), which is used as a dry cleaning agent or metal degreaser. Woods Cross has four municipal water wells that provide drinking water to the community of 9,795 people. Two of these four wells are contaminated with PCE. One of the wells consistently shows PCE levels exceeding the safe drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion (ppb) for PCE. This well provides over 33% of Wood Cross city's water supply and has been shut down since February 1999 because of PCE contamination. The other affected well containing PCE shows levels below the safe drinking water standard.
Site Risk
| Media Affected | Contaminants | Source of Contamination |
| Groundwater | Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), also known as Perchloroethylene (PERC) | Unknown |
The contaminant of concern is tetrachloroethylene (PCE) primarily used in the dry cleaning process and as a metal degreaser. Another name for the substance that is frequently used by those in the dry cleaning business is perchloroethylene, (PERC). PCE is found in the groundwater, but the drinking water in this area is municipal water which meets the Safe Drinking Water Standard. Woods Cross monitors this water regularly.
Two of the four wells Woods Cross City uses to supply drinking water to its citizens are contaminated with PCE. One of these wells is no longer pumping water, but will be needed in the next few years to help meet the increased demand for water. The other affected well contains PCE levels below the safe drinking water standard. It is possible that concentrations of PCE will increase over time if the groundwater contamination is not addressed. Placing the Site on the NPL list allows EPA to address this situation before it gets worse.
Cleanup Progress
Since the end of September, EPA and UDEQ have worked closely together to transfer from EPA to UDEQ as the lead agency. Early in 2008, UDEQ assumed the lead on this Site. Work will begin on the Remedial Investigation (RI) sometime in 2008. During the RI, the extent, or boundaries, of the plume will be identified and what source(s) might be contributing to the contamination in the groundwater.
EPA's Removal program worked with a nearby dry cleaner during the summer of
2007 to remove an old underground storage structure that contained PCE. This
action only partially addressed the source of contamination. This action does
not address the contaminated groundwater.
Site Documents
Note: the following document is an Adobe Acrobat PDF fileAbout PDF files
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Five Points PCE Plume Fact Sheet, February 2007 (PDF, 2 pp, 123K)
Narrative Summary (PDF, 1 page 63K)
Proposal Timeline (PDF, 1 page, 12K)
Comment directions for HRS package March 7-May 7, 2007 (PDF, 1 page, 13K)
HRS Package (PDF, 17 pp, 252K)
Groundwater Policy for Landowners above Plumes (PDF, 10 pp, 1 MB)
Community Involvement
Throughout the cleanup process the Superfund law requires that the stakeholders and the community be given every opportunity to have meaningful input on how the plume is cleaned up. First, a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) is prepared acknowledging any concerns or issues the community and other stakeholders may have. The CIP outlines how EPA and UDEQ will communicate with the public about future work, opportunities for commenting on decisions, and other pertinent information. Some methods used for communicating with the public include: fact sheets, public notices, public meetings, press releases and a web page.
Contacts
| EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1-800-227-8917 ext. 6247 Email: garcia.sam@epa.gov Peggy Linn or Karen Edson |
Utah
Utah Department of Environmental Quality Dave Allison |
